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The Commission 2021-2023 budget request has been submitted and the 2021 Regular Session is just around the corner. As it is likely to be a tough budget session, it is more important than ever that conservation districts enlist support from state legislators, partners, and stakeholders. We have heard that a few districts have been able to schedule socially distanced legislative tours and discussions. When meeting with decision makers, we recommend you share the Capital Budget Request and Operating Budget Request fact sheets we have developed. Other great handout material can be found in the Marketing Toolkit under the 'Outreach' Tab.
We've also heard that WACD will be holding a legislative priorities work session in November. Keep an eye on the WACD Members page and 5 Things for upcoming information!
Area Meeting Resolutions
The area meetings are nearly completed! A big thank you to all of the host districts who were able to conduct them virtually. View the resolutions that have been passed to date and stay tuned for updates.
Plant Sale Roundtable Nov 18
On November 18th, WACD will host a roundtable for conservation districts who will be holding, or wish to hold, a plant sale. The Zoom line will open at 9:30 a.m. and the roundtable will begin at 10:00 a.m. and last for an hour. For more information, please contact WACD.
- Zoom link
- Meeting ID: 840 9752 1151#
- Passcode: 045250#
- Dial: 1-253-215-8782
You only have a few days left to take the survey on the addition of WDFW as a voting member on the Commission. Read more here and please take the survey. It is important that we hear everyone's voices.
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Supervisor Development Modules Available! |
We have released two of five newly released supervisor development modules, Board Governance/Public Official Conduct and Policy Making for Conservation District Boards. Each is less than 15 minutes in length. Consider watching them at an upcoming board meeting. Your Commission Regional Manager is available to watch along with you and answer questions. You can watch the modules here. We expect to release Module #3, Personnel Oversight, soon!
Center for Government Innovation's #GoodGovernment Gathering
Sign-ups are open for the SAO Center for Government Innovation's Fall #GoodGovernment Gathering! The sessions are all virtual and held on November 10th and 12th. Visit the Center for Government Innovation web page for more information and to register.
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Enduris Training Seminars
Prevention is Key! Join Enduris for these upcoming trainings with topics that target exposures important to special purpose districts. These trainings are all virtual and intended for management, staff, and elected officials. Visit the Enduris Training web page for more information and to register. Registration costs are covered through membership and offered at no charge to conservation districts.
- Foundations of Implicit Bias
- Building Supervisory Skills 101
- Building Supervisory Skills 201
- Building Supervisory Skills 301
- Ethics with a Twist
- Approaching Supervisory Situations with Confidence
- Transitioning to Discipline
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 CTD Webinars
The Center for Technical Development (CTD) is offering the following webinars. Visit the CTD Webinars and Web Training page for more information and to register.
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Sharing Series - Regional Stormwater Action Team: Lessons Learned, Tuesday, November 3, 2020, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
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Growing New Cover Crop Ideas: Thursday, November 19, 2020, 9:00-10:30 a.m.
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How to Choose and Interpret Metrics for Conservation: Thursday, December 17, 2020, 9:00-10:00 a.m.
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Pollinator Protectors: Funding Opportunity with the Endangered Species Coalition: Thursday, January 21, 2021, 9:00-10:00 a.m.
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NRCS WasteCalc Spreadsheet Training: Thursday, February 18, 2021, 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Conservation Community Call - Elections Experiences, October 30
Please join your fellow conservation district colleagues on a conference call to discuss the upcoming conservation district election season. Listen to, share, and ask questions on conducting elections. The webinar will be held this Friday, October 30th, 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. and will include topics such as mail-in elections, working with the county auditor's office, and conducting an election during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more and register here.
NRCS has clarified forestry eligiblity and extended the proposal deadline to November 30th for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). Visit the RCPP website to learn more.
DNR Releases Forest Action Plan
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources released its 2020 Forest Action Plan on Monday, October 26, outlining more than 100 priority actions to improve and conserve forests across Washington. View the press release and final published plan.
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Washington Conservation Society
The Washington Conservation Society (WCS) is asking the conservation community to consider designating WCS as your AmazonSmile charity. Donations created from purchases made October 1, 2020 - January 31, 2021 will go toward supporting the Washington State Envirothon.
Centennial farm in Cowiche Valley preserved, securing heritage and natural resource value |
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Farmland and fish - both are iconic of Yakima County, and both will benefit from agreements made by landowners and partners to conserve the Cowiche Valley. Read more in the news release on the Commission website.
 Photo Credit: Mike Tobin, North Yakima CD |
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Important Dates
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If you have questions about any of these events, please contact your Commission Regional Manager. They can provide more information or point you in the right direction.
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Central Elected Commission Member, New Process for 2020 |
Due to the declared COVID-19 pandemic emergency, the Commission has adopted a Temporary Interpretive Statement 20-01 describing the process of the district representative to the Commission to accommodate for the WACD Annual Meeting being held virtually. For 2020 there will be one district elected position on the Conservation Commission up for election this year - the Central Washington district representative.
If you are interested in this position, please submit the Candidate Interest Form to the Commission no later than Friday, November 13, 2020. The process and timeline are described in this document titled: Temporary Process for the Election of the Elected Member of the Conservation Commission.
If you have any questions, please contact Lori Gonzalez at lgonzalez@scc.wa.gov or by phone at 360-791-0226. This information can be found here.
Our conversation about conservation district elections continues on Saturday, November 21, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Our meeting objective is to collect conservation district input on options for potential changes to conservation district elections. Your input will be shared with Commission members to inform their discussion and potential action on conservation district elections at their public meeting on December 3, 2020. View the meeting agenda and register here.
To prepare for the meeting, please read more about the process and find the link for the recorded September meeting here.
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Click on the image above to view the Commission's fact sheet about conservation district elections accountability and transparency.
 Every Day is a New Day for Conservation (Starting the day off right, Lance Downing, Kittitas County CD)
Commission District Officer's Monthly Update
REQUIRED TRAINING: The 2020 election and appointment training webinar is available for those who need to view it. The PowerPoint slides are also available. Remember that new this year, each election supervisor must view the 2020 election and appointment training webinar and verify that on the revised EF1 form.
WEB PAGE: All election materials are available to you on the Commission's election administrator's web page.
WAC CHANGES: If you are the election supervisor for your conservation district, remember to leave yourself enough time to review the new election and appointment WAC changes and the other materials available on our election administrator web page.
ELECTIONS DURING COVID-19: Now is the time to ensure that your conservation district has adopted any policies, protocols, and procedures it needs for a successful election. We are still under social distancing requirements due to COVID-19, so please review our memo with recommendations.
SAMPLE MAIL-IN RESOLUTION: The Commission has created a sample election resolution that is specific to mail-in only elections. It is available for download on the election administrator's web page for districts who are contemplating a mail-in only election.
NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT CHANGES: New This Year! Remember that each conservation district must publish, within 7 days of the public meeting at which the election resolution was adopted, the information in the election resolution in a newspaper. See the newly amended rules for more details, and other important changes that affect conservation district elections.
If you have any questions, please contact the Commission's election officer, Bill Eller, at beller@scc.wa.gov and 509-385-7512.
Conservation District Election Forum with the Commission's Election Officer
Have a burning question about conservation district elections? Wondering what the election changes are that the Commission adopted at their September 2020 meeting? Is it true that conservation district elections cannot be cancelled anymore [yes, it's true]? Can your nephew serve as a poll officer during a conservation district election [it depends]?
You're not alone! Get these and all of your other election questions answered by the Commission's election officer, Bill Eller.
Your Commission election officer will be available for election-related questions every two weeks through the 2020-2021 election season. Forums will take place every other Tuesday, from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m., until the end of March 2021, or until we run out of questions. The schedule is below:
- November 2020: 3, 17
- December 2020: 1, 15, 29
- January 2021: 12, 26
- February 2021: 9, 23
- March 2021: 9, 23
All questions are welcome, and the forum is open to those who may not have questions and want to listen in! Plan to attend a one hour virtual meeting. If we don't have an immediate answer, we will research the answer and provide it at the next forum.
The forums are recorded and posted to the Commission's elections web page for later listening. We have posted a few already, check them out here.
Join each session you want to attend here. You can also dial in using your phone: 1-224-501-3412, code 978-698-053.
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Question: We are planning on recruiting some volunteers to help us with a project. Do we need to be concerned with reporting volunteer hours to WA Labor & Industries?
Answer: You should be reporting volunteer hours to L&I to ensure that volunteers are covered in the case of a work place accident. You can work directly with L&I on reporting. Volunteers cost significantly less than full time employees in the eyes of L&I. You should expect to pay more to L&I during the time that you will be utilizing the volunteers. (Adapted answer from Enduris)
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